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10-11-2016 MinutesMINUTES REGULAR MEETING October 11, 2016 A Regular Meeting was held by the Schertz City Council of the City of Schertz, Texas, on October 11, 2016, at 6:00 p.m., in the Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex Council Chambers, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Building #4, Schertz, Texas. The following members present to -wit: Mayor Michael Carpenter Councilmember Jim Fowler Councilmember Daryl John Staff Present: Executive Director Dudley Wait City Attorney Charles Zech Call to Order — City Council Regular Session Mayor Pro -Tern Cedric Edwards Councilmember Grumpy Azzoz Councilmember Robin Thompson Executive Director Brian James Assistant to the City Manager Sarah Gonzalez City Secretary Brenda Dennis Mayor Carpenter called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. Opening Prayer and Pledges of Allegiance to the Flags of the United States and State of Texas. ( Councilmember Thompson) Councilmember Thompson provided the opening prayer followed by the pledges of allegiance to the flags of the United States and the State of Texas. Recognition and Presentation • Introduction of the Student Mayors and Student Councilmembers for the Day. (Mayor Carpenter) - Student Mayors — Dobie Jr. High, 8th Grade Hans Robinson Loja and Corbett Jr. High, 8t� Grade Kale Peters - Student Councilmembers — Dobie Jr. High, 7th Grade Brianna McGhee and Corbett Jr. High, 7th Grade Jordan Betterton Mayor Carpenter recognized City Secretary Brenda Dennis who stated this is the second year we have partnered with the Schertz Cibolo Universal City Independent School District Social Studies Coordinator Rebecca Williams to involve the 7t' and 80' Grade students in learning about local government. She stated that she, as well as Councilmembers Fowler and Thompson, were very impressed with the students on how they interacted as they were provided an opportunity to hear a presentation from staff and deliberate amongst themselves to provide their thoughts regarding a possible change in the way the City is doing business. She stated the students received a small taste of what the Mayor and Councilmembers provide to the City. Ms. Dennis stated that with the assistance of Cpl. A. J. Arriaga from the Police department he proposed to the students a possible amendment to our City Noise Ordinance. The students discussed, deliberated and voted on a proposed amendment operating just as members of Council would. 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page - 1 - Mayor Carpenter recognized each student who provided information on what they learned today and thanked all those individuals involved in the program. Mayor Carpenter, City Manager John Kessel and Social Studies Coordinator Rebecca Williams presented the students with certificates and plaques recognizing their participation in the City's Mayor /Councilmember Student for the Day Program. City Events and Announcements • Announcements of upcoming City Events (B. James/D. Wait/S. Gonzalez) Mayor Carpenter recognized Assistant to the City Manager Sarah Gonzalez who provided the following announcements: • Sunday, October 9 — Saturday, October 15, Fire Prevention Week. • Wednesday, October 12, Groundbreaking of the Northeast Bexar County Sheriff Substation, 10:00 a.m., Intersection of Loop 1604 and Rocket Lane, Converse, Invitation from Commissioner Tommy Calvert, Precinct 4. • Wednesday, October 12, Schertz Fire Dept. Station #2, Housing Ceremony, 19085 IH 35 N, 6:00 p.m. Ceremony will include words from elected and appointed officials, invocation, ringing in and then everyone is invited to participate in the first "wash the truck" event. Hotdogs and cake will be served. • Wednesday, October 12, Meet the Candidates - Schertz, Schertz Civic Center — Bldg. No. 5; discussion starts at 6:00 p.m. • Thursday, October 13, Northeast Partnership for Economic Development meeting, 11:30 a.m. Olympia Hills Golf and Conference Center. • Saturday, October 15, Caterpillar Open House Invitation, 1:00 p.m. -3:00 p.m., Caterpillar Schertz, 6800 Doerr Lane. If you are interested in attending please get with Patty Horan with the EDC department. • Tuesday, October 18, Groundbreaking — Comal ISD Middle School #6, 10:00 a.m. Hubertus Road (West of I11-35) • Tuesday, October 18, The Chamber Monthly Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. -1:00 p.m. at the Schertz Civic Center. • Thursday, October 20, Monthly Chamber Mixer, 5:30 p.m., Sure Point Self Storage, 17305 IH 35 North. • Thursday, October 20, Steve Simonson Volunteer of the Year and Volunteer Recognition Dinner, 6:30 p.m.- Social, 7:00 p.m.- Dinner, 8:00 p.m.- Awards, at the Schertz Civic Center. • Friday, October 21, Senior Center Spooktacular Halloween Party, 6:00 p.m. at the Schertz Area Senior Center; costume contest, raffles and DJ. • Saturday, October 22, Community Clean-up Day at Mobil Villa Neighborhood, IH- 35 N. access road between Schertz Parkway and FM 3009 sponsored by Love Where You Live and the City of Schertz, 8:00 AM — 4:00 PM. Volunteers needed, for more information call Jesse Hamilton at 619 -1671 or Mr. Fowler 326 -6017. The cleanup will include yard work, tree trimming and minor maintenance for homes. Dumpsters provided for residents to bring non - hazardous items for disposal. • Saturday, October 22, Schertz Police Department Men's Softball Tournament, 2600 TX -21, San Marcos, San Marcos Gary Softball Complex, 8:00 AM. Proceeds given to 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page - 2 - families of the fallen offices involved in the Dallas shooting on July 7, 2016. Contact Adam Samaniego at the Police Department. • Saturday, October 22, SCUCISD Education Foundation Casino Night Fundraiser, 5:00 p.m. — 10:30 p.m., Schertz Civic Center. For more information go to their website at www.scucisdfoundation.com. • Announcements and recognitions by City Manager (J. Kessel) Mayor Carpenter recognized City Manager John Kessel who stated he wanted to highlight last Tuesday evening when the City celebrated National Night Out. All the City Council participated in getting out to many neighborhoods and he believes they averaged five neighborhoods per Councilmember with a total of about 30 neighborhoods. Mr. Kessel thanked Officer Helen Lafitte who spearheaded all the coordination with the various HOA's for months and the City Secretary's office for coordinating the event. This was very well received. As another tag -on, the Councilmembers and Staff presented buttons which say "Vote Local — Vote Schertz ". We have been trying to make certain that citizens realize there is a local election both with the City and the School District that is not a partisan race and therefore you have to scroll down on the upcoming ballot to actually vote for the local candidates. We want to make sure we are encouraging citizens to vote and to vote local, vote Schertz. The Public Affairs team, Linda, Melissa, Chuck and others participated in this in- house design and did a great job with this campaign. Mr. Kessel stated that the City Secretary has been pushing this idea as well and was happy with the button. New Employee Recognitions: • Animal Services — Animal Shelter Technician — Megan Lagunas (D. Wait/M. Harris /S. O'Brien) • EDC — Business Retention Manager — Jennifer Kolbe (J. Kessel/K. Kinateder) • Fleet Department — Fleet Mechanic I - Stephen Gillard. (D. Wait/J. Harshman) • Public Works Department — Drainage Worker I — Christian Herrera, Service Man I — Darryl Cunningham, Street Worker I —Nathan Rodriguez. (D. Wait/J. Hooks) Each new staff member was introduced to Council by their Department Manager /Supervisor who also provided a short bio on them. Each employee was allowed an opportunity to speak if they wished. Mayor and Council welcomed all the new employees to City Staff. Proclamation • Proclamation recognizing Domestic Violence Awareness Month. (D. Wait/N. Solis- Douglass) Mayor Carpenter recognized Regional Crime Victim Liaison Nicole Douglass who accepted the proclamation. Workshop • Discussion and update regarding the License Plate Readers. (D. Wait/S. Pulaski) 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page - 3 - Mayor Carpenter recognized Executive Director Dudley Wait and Deputy Marshal Lt. Steve Pulaski who provided a PowerPoint presentation regarding the status of the License Plate Readers. The following were highlights from the presentation: Where we have been: • Contacted by Vigilant Solutions in June, 2015 • Presentation to City Council, December 15, 2015 • Work done by involved departments and recommendation to NOT proceed with LPR's at this time - received June 10, 2016 ALPRS ( "free ") not recommended LPR (purchased) system desired at some point, but higher budget priorities at this time • Letter from DOJ received May 3, 2016 Basis of Recommendation: • Free system is paid for by using the vendor's money collection system which adds a 25% service fee to the amount due • Can be used on both types of warrants - Capias: Amounts due after case adjudicated (entered a plea, on a payment plan). Usually smaller amounts due but good use of this type system because case already adjudicated and fine just needs to be paid. Average outstanding amount is $325. - Failure to Appear: Warrant issued after a person does not appear for their court date after a citation has been issued. Case has not been adjudicated; citizen has not entered a plea. These are more complicated due to no previous court appearance. - On Failure to Appear (FTA) the 25% is added to the already in -place 30% collections fee. • For a single violation: • Speeding: $384.10 • Failure to Appear $221.00 • Total: $605.10 • Collections (30 %) $181.53 • LPR Fee (25 %) $196.66 • Grand Total: $983.29 • When violator comes before the Judge and case is adjudicated, Judge currently is assessing indigence level before sentencing per D.O.J. letter. A variety of options are used for those who cannot pay before jail option is used. • If FTA warrant is found and no judge is available, they are taken directly to GCSO jail. GCSO no longer keeps them pending a cash bond or for a penalty of a day per $100 owed, they are released on a Personal Recognizance Bond. • Texas Legislature considered three bills regarding License Plate Readers. • HB 2744: Would allow Law Enforcement Agencies and Municipal Parking Enforcement Agencies to use LPR's. Never heard in committee. • HB 3929: Would establish statewide rules and regulations allowing law enforcement agencies to use the cameras for four (4) specific purposes; establish a statewide database for the collected data; require annual reports as to how the data is used by individual departments and would have exempted the collected data from open records requirements. Heard in committee. • HB 121: Established that a capias warrant (and associated fees that allow it to be paid 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page - 4 - in the field) could be paid by debit or credit card at the location where the person was encountered and then the person could be released. This bill passed and was signed by the Governor. Communities surveyed: Seguin is not using free system, have purchased cameras. Cibolo is not using free system, would like to purchase cameras. Alamo Heights is implementing free system but will not share their data and will not use other agency data. Kyle entered into an agreement and then cancelled it due to "privacy concems". Staff recommendation: • To not pursue the LPR system that has no cost to the City. • To continue to monitor the technology and laws associated with them. • To move towards purchasing LPR systems per their internal priority of future expanded programs. • To continue to monitor advice and best practices from the Department of Justice regarding municipal warrants and other related matters to be able to respond efficiently and proactively as this landscape changes. Mr. Wait and Lt. Pulaski addressed comments and questions from Council. Councilmembers provided their individual comments regarding the program expressing their views and listing pros and cons. After much discussion, it was the consensuses of Council to have staff get more information on the program addressing the concerns raised and come back to them at a later time with a recommendation. Mayor Carpenter moved to agenda Item 7 stating that there are individuals in the audience this evening waiting for this particular item. Discussion and Action Items 7. Ordinance No. 16 -S -34 — Conduct a public hearing and consideration and /or action approving an Ordinance on a request to rezone approximately 8 acres of land generally PH located at the Northwest Corner of FM 1103 and Old Wiederstein, from Single Family Residential/ Agriculture, (R -A) to Neighborhood Services (NS). The property is specifically described as 7.128 acres of land out of the Rafael Garza Survey No. 98, Abstract No. 138, City of Schertz, Guadalupe County, Texas. First Reading (B. James/L. Wood/E. Grobe) The following was read into record: ORDINANCE NO. 16 -S -34 AN ORDINANCE BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS AMENDING THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP BY REZONING APPROXIMATELY 8 ACRES OF LAND FROM SINGLE - FAMILY RESIDENTIAL / AGRICULTURAL DISTRICT, (R -A) TO NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES DISTRICT (NS). Mayor Carpenter recognized Planner I Emily Grobe who stated Foresight Group, Inc. is requesting to rezone approximately 8 acres of land from Single Family Residential/ 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page - 5 - Agricultural (R -A) to Neighborhood Services (NS). There currently is a house on the property that will be demolished with the redevelopment of this property. The public hearing notice was published in "The Daily Commercial Recorder" on September 16, 2016 and the "Herald" on September 21, 2016. Thirty -three (33) public hearing notices were mailed to surrounding property owners within two hundred (200) feet of the subject property on September 1, 2016, prior to the Planning & Zoning Commission meeting that took place on September 14, 2016. At the time of this report being prepared, staff received three (3) responses in favor and four (4) responses opposed to the request. The Comprehensive Land Plan identifies the subject property as Industrial which is intended to maintain lower intensity industrial, flex office, and logistics uses. This land use designation allows for both small, incremental development and large development of the area with light industrial and commercial uses. Comprehensive Land Plan Goals and Objectives: The proposed rezoning request is generally in conformance with the goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The proposed zone change supports the commercial use that the Future Land Use Plan calls for in this area. The Neighborhood Services zoning district would allow for the commercial use desired per the Comprehensive Land Plan at a lower intensity than the primary industrial zoning. • Impact on Infrastructure: The proposed zoning request should have a minimal impact on the existing and planned water and wastewater systems. The project is within the City of Schertz service area. Impact on Public Facilities /Services: The proposed rezoning request should have a minimal impact on public services, such as schools, fire, police, parks and sanitation services. Compatibility with Existing and Potential Ad iacent Land Uses: The subject property is currently surrounded by single - family residential, Right -of -Way, and manufacturing. The surrounding area including the Single - Family Residential are all identified on the Comprehensive Land Use Plan to have the same industrial land use designation. The proposed Neighborhood Services zoning conforms with the intent of the Industrial land use designation while providing a more compatible land use to the adjacent residential. The Comprehensive Land Use Plan section which describes this area was adopted in 2002. At that time the subject property and surrounding area were zoned for single - family residential uses. No City initiated zonings were undertaken to rezone these properties from residential to industrial and subsequently the adjacent area developed as single - family residential with the creation of the Belmont Park, and Riata Subdivisions, whose master development plans were approved in 2003 and 2006 respectively. The development of the Riata and Belmont Park subdivisions created a change in conditions for the surrounding area and for the subject property. The 2013 Schertz Sector Plan amendment to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan focused on the northern and southern areas of Schertz and did not examine this area. Since the Schertz Sector Plan amendment did not review this area, the subject property along with the Riata and 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page-6- Belmont Park Subdivisions are still identified on the Future Land Use Plan as Industrial use despite being single family. The Comprehensive Land Use Plan specifically describes that industrial zoning should not be directly adjacent to residential uses. As such Staff looked to the Comprehensive Plan as a whole to offer guidance. The hard corner of FM 1103 and Old Wiederstein Road is what the Comprehensive Land Use Plan would consider a node for commercial development. In keeping with the commercially desired land use described in the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, Neighborhood Services is an alternative that would allow for limited service and retail uses to more conveniently accommodate the needs of the nearby residential uses and existing commercial uses. The Planning and Zoning Commission conducted the public hearing on September 14, 2016 and offered a recommendation of approval by a unanimous vote. Staff recommends approval of the rezoning request based on its compatibility with the adjacent land uses and compliance with the Comprehensive Land Plan. Ms. Grobe addressed comments and questions from Council. Mayor Carpenter opened the public hearing and recognized the following: Mr. Patrick Christianson, representing the applicant, who stated he was here to address any questions Council may have. Mr. Robert Brockman, 1000 Elbel Road, who inquired if notification was provided to those individuals outside the city limits. Mr. Jeff Womack, 2944 Mineral Springs, who wanted to know if they had any idea as to who may be going in on the property in question. As no one else spoke, Mayor Carpenter closed the public hearing and recognized Ms. Grobe who stated that yes notification was given to the two (2) property owners which were outside the city limits, as they are within the 200 foot notice requirement. Ms. Grobe stated that regarding the uses allowed in Neighborhood Services, some include a restaurant, pharmacy, pet store, medical, dental or professional office clinic, antique shops, day care centers, florists, and that's just to name a few of them. Mayor Carpenter recognized Mr. Patrick Christianson who stated that they are primarily proposing a CVS Pharmacy. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz who moved, seconded by Mayor Pro - Tem Edwards to approve Ordinance No. 16 -5 -34 first reading. The vote was unanimous with Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards, Councilmembers Fowler, Azzoz, John and Thompson voting for and no one voting no. Motion passed. 8. Discussion regarding placing an item or items on a future city council agenda or agendas - Discussion and possible action regarding the placement of an item or items on a future city council agenda for the purposes of discussing, instructing the City Manager to modify, change, end, re -open or otherwise redirect a police department investigation, particularly as it pertains to the investigation into the murder of Henry Gutierrez. (Mayor /Council) 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page - 7 - Mayor Carpenter stated that this is not something that they have done often. He said the discussion this evening is about whether or not we are going to put this item on a future agenda —it is not a time to discuss the merits or things they might discuss under a regular agenda item. Any philosophical discussion should be limited and/or handled under Item 9. Councilmember Azzoz stated that last week he simply requested this be put on the agenda to ask the City Manager to ask the Chief of Police to ask for outside help in this matter. He did not recall asking for it to be a discussion. Mayor Carpenter responded that he had then stated we will put this on the agenda for discussion of whether it should be placed on an agenda and no one objected at that time. He feels this is the appropriate course of action now. Councilmember Fowler stated he thinks it is not appropriate, as they cannot take any action against the Police Department. Councilmember Thompson said he does not believe the City Council has the expertise, training, background, etc. If they adopt this it will go against what is stated in the City Charter as to what Council may and may not do. Councilmember Azzoz spoke again to clarify that he is not asking for Council to interfere; rather that our Police Department should be directed to seek any available outside help to assist in this investigation so that it will not end up as an unsolved case. After several more comments from Councilmember Fowler and Councilmember Thompson Mayor Carpenter stated he thought they were getting into the merits of whether the City Manager should instruct the Police Department to change or amend their current process. The question before us is should we place this on a future agenda to discuss taking that action or not. He asked for further fmal comments from council. In response he explained the procedure that allowed for this discussion and subsequent vote on this business. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Thompson who moved, seconded by Councilmember Fowler to not place an item or items on a future city council agenda for the purpose of discussing, instructing the City Manager to modify, change, end, re -open or otherwise redirect a police department investigation, particularly as it pertains to the investigation into the murder of Henry Gutierrez. The vote was 4 -1 -0 with Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards, Councilmembers Fowler, John and Thompson voting for and Councilmember Azzoz voting no. Motion passed. Mayor Carpenter moved to the hearing of residents section of the agenda. Hearing of Residents Mayor Carpenter recognized the following individuals who spoke: • Mr. Glen Outlaw, 3729 Forsyth Park who extended an invitation to anyone who likes to ride motorcycles. This Sunday, October 16, at Texas Pride BBQ on FM 1604 is the 4' Annual San Antonio Ride for Kids - an event of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the U.S. It is a fundraiser for curing pediatric brain cancer. They expect to see between 100 -200 motorcycles out there. Registration is 8:00 -9:30 a.m. with the ride starting at 10:00 a.m. It is a police escorted ride. There is no charge to participate in the ride; however, a donation of $40 is suggested. 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page - 8 - Mayor Carpenter moved back to the workshop items on the agenda. Workshop • Presentation and discussion regarding a planned comprehensive benefit review for all City employees and how this relates to recent inquiries regarding certification and `step -up' pay and other related matters. (D. Wait/J. Kurz) Mayor Carpenter recognized Executive Director Dudley Wait who stated that two weeks ago we had a presentation regarding the employee engagement survey. Out of that we saw that a lot of our engagement scores had gone up; actually most of them did. We had a little reordering in our lower scores. Pay, of course, was still the lowest at 277 out of 500, Internal Communication was up from last time, but was the second lowest at 346 and Benefits came in next at 351 out of 500. Those were the three lowest scores. One of the things that the leadership team has committed to during this next year that we have shared with the employees is that we are going to be doing an overall benefit survey. At that same meeting, at the end, Councilmember Fowler brought up some concerns regarding certification pay, step up pay or employees doing the job when the person who is supposed to be doing the job has a day off; the education and how we train employees and how we allow them to use those skills that they are trained to do. What we decided and thought about is bringing back to council an outline of what our review is going to involve regarding the overall benefit situation. The benefits that the employees of the City of Schertz receive are extensive. Normal benefits people think about are health and medical, vision, dental, and retirement benefits through TMRS, which are outstanding for our employees, and additional retirement benefits that they are allowed to participate in. We also have all kinds of supplemental insurance programs such as cafeteria plans; either a medical type of insurance, out of work insurance like Affleck and others. We have an employee assistance program that allows up to eight free counseling sessions per year per family member. We have some legal assistance insurance and a tuition assistance reimbursement program that will reimburse our employees if they successfully complete courses related to their scope of work, up to $1,000 per year. We also get into a myriad of other pay, such as certification pay, clothing allowances, stand by pay, special duty pay, step up pay, uniform pay, uniforms provided, and a whole other long list of these minor benefits that are important when the situation arises for the employee, but are pretty extensive. Looking through all of these we felt we could address Councilmember Fowler's concern a little bit, but we think the issue he was speaking specifically to goes to the overarching issue that we have as a City with certification pay and those types of benefits. The City has grown into a number of these things that the employees see as benefits now over the last 60 years that the City has been here. Some of them, like holiday pay, vacation/sick pay - those are significantly explained in policy. Others as they came up over time were not so well engrained in policy and some of those were some of the issues Councilmember Fowler brought up. When you are looking at this, one of the things we have struggled with as a leadership team is exactly how do we move forward in some of those arenas? We opted, even during the budget process, when a number of these certification pay type questions came up, to just put those on hold until we could do the benefits review. We believe it is important to look at this, and he stated that as an example, we have paramedics that work for the city; we 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page - 9 - also have a hand full of paramedics that work for Schertz Fire Department. They are certified, they get credentialed by the medical director Dr. Butter to operate as a paramedic on a first responder unit. In other words, the fire engine or squad goes out of the fire station with a paramedic on it and they can operate as a paramedic exactly the same as a paramedic on an ambulance; they just don't transport them to the hospital. They stabilize them and get them ready to be put on the ambulance when it comes in and the ambulance transports them to the hospital. For doing this our Fire Department Paramedics receive certification pay. On the other hand, the EMS Paramedic employees do not receive certification pay because their job description makes them a paramedic. Mr. Wait continued with his examples of certification and certification pay received by various employees. Mr. Wait stated that certification pay has a lot of different avenues and areas to it. Mr. Wait stated that in his prediction, as they go through the benefits survey and benefits review it will probably be the place that we spend the most amount of our time because it is a very broad, complicated and intricate place that we find ourselves in. There may be things we may need to undo and there may be things we need to implement. Our belief in going through this is putting a team together to start this review is that we are going to divide this up into a number of areas and start the review comparing ourselves with other cities as well as comparing ourselves with departments and internal departments within the city. It is our belief at some time in the next six to nine months we are going to come back to council with an overall benefits philosophy. We are going to ask council to help us craft and to adopt a philosophy that explains how we move forward in the future. This is going to encompass the normal benefits everyone thinks of, health, medical etc., and much like we did with our compensation philosophy, where in the market we should be. This is a market driven item that he thinks we are going to need council's direction on, and also as we get into some of the minor and minute benefit details that may be department by department or shift to shift within that department or even group to group within that department that we will also need some guidance with an overarching philosophy about how we craft those so that there is some semblance of fairness amongst all the departments and all the groups that interact with specific functions that the city does so that everyone that is an intricate part to that is compensated in a way, both in the compensation plan, as well as the benefits plan that help them believe that they are a valuable member of the team. This is the direction we are headed and this is going to be a large task to undo and to get down to the brass tacks of what everything is, start to look at overall patterns, see what our bench mark cities are doing and then try to develop a plan to start moving down the path that make us competitive with the other cities that are competitive with us in the labor market. Members of Council provided their comments of appreciation regarding the update and for the vast and large amount of work that will need to be done to accomplish the overall review. Consent Agenda Items The Consent Agenda is considered self - explanatory and will be enacted by the Council with one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless they are removed from the Consent Agenda upon the request of the Mayor or a Councilmember. E 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page - 10 - 1. Minutes — Consideration and/or action regarding the approval of the minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 27, 2016. (J. Kessel/B. Dennis) 2. Ordinance No. 16 -D -33 — Consideration and/or action approving an Ordinance providing that the Code of Ordinances of the City of Schertz, Texas be amended by revising Chapter 86, Article V, Section 86 -149 parking prohibited in front of the drainage channels on Marilyn Drive and Pecan Drive in the Val Verde Subdivision. Final Reading (B. James/K. Woodlee /C. Palomo) The following was read into record: ORDINANCE NO. 16 -D -33 AN ORDINANCE BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS PROVIDING THAT THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS BE AMENDED BY REVISING CHAPTER 86, ARTICLE V, SECTION 86 -149 PARIC NG PROHIBITED; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3. Resolution No. 16 -R -77 — Consideration and/or action approving a Resolution authorizing a Public Library Interlocal Agreement with Guadalupe County for Public Library Services. (B. James/M. Uhlhom) The following was read into record: RESOLUTION NO. 16 -R -77 A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS AUTHORIZING A PUBLIC LIBRARY INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH GUADALUPE COUNTY, AND OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Fowler who moved, seconded by Councihnember Thompson to approve consent agenda items 1 -3. The vote was unanimous with Mayor Pro -Tern Edwards, Councilmembers Fowler, Azzoz, John and Thompson voting for and no one voting no. Motion passed. Discussion and Action Items 4. Certificate of Approval — Consideration and/or action approving the Mayor of the City of Schertz to execute and sign the Certificate of Approval regarding Tax- Exempt Financing for the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, particularly as pertains to Saint John Paul II Catholic High School in Schertz. (Mayor Carpenter) Mayor Carpenter stated he received an email of request from the Archdiocese of San Antonio requesting approval of a proposed tax - exempt bond issue associated with St. John Paul 11 Catholic High School in Schertz, as required by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code "). The bonds will not be a debt or liability of the City of Schertz. The consent being requested is for the purposes of complying with federal tax law regarding tax - exempt financing. 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page - 11 - St. John Paul 11 Catholic High School is a qualified 501(c) 3 charitable organization, and therefore is eligible to participate in tax - exempt financings. However, unlike a governmental issuer (e.g., a city or public school district), 501(c) 3 organizations must issue bonds through a state - approved conduit and must conduct a public hearing on the financing. Since the campus t is located in the City of Schertz, Internal Revenue Code §147(f) requires that the "highest elected official" of the City approve the transaction after the public hearing is held. The public hearing was held on October 6, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., at St. John Paul II Catholic High School, 6720 FM 482, New Braunfels, Texas, 78132. St. John Paul II Catholic High School is re- financing existing debt, the proceeds of which were used to finance the cost of acquiring the Saint John Paul II Catholic High School Campus located at 6720 FM 482; and paying certain expenses in connection with the issuance. Mayor Carpenter stated that this item is similar to the one regarding the school on FM 1518 they approved. Mayor Carpenter recognized Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards who moved, seconded by Councilmember Fowler to approve executing and signing a Certificate of Approval regarding Tax- Exempt Financing pertaining to Saint John Paul II Catholic High School. The vote was unanimous with Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards, Councilmembers Fowler, Azzoz, John and Thompson voting for and no one voting no. Motion passed. 5. Calling a Special Meeting November 21, 2016 — Consideration and/or action calling a special meeting on Monday, November 21, 2016 to canvass the results of the November 8, 2016 General and Special Election and conduct a new councilmember orientation. (J. Kessel/B. Dennis) Mayor Carpenter stated there is a window to canvass the result of the upcoming election and it is recommended that they call a special meeting on Monday, November 21, 2016 in order to accomplish this. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Thompson who moved, seconded by Councilmember Azzoz to approve calling a special meeting on Monday, November 21, 2016 to canvass the results of the November 8, 2016 General and Special Election results and conduct a new councilmember orientation. The vote was unanimous with Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards, Councilmembers Fowler, Azzoz, John and Thompson voting for and no one voting no. Motion passed. 6. Cancellation of the November 22, 2016 City Council Meeting — Consideration and/or action cancelling the November 22, 2016 City Council meeting. (J. Kessel/B. Dennis) Mayor Carpenter stated City Staff has found there are no items to be presented to Council for action, and as practice, Council has usually cancelled the meeting the week of the Thanksgiving holiday. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Thompson who moved, seconded by Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards to cancel the November 22, 2016 City Council meeting. The vote was unanimous with Mayor Pro-Tent Edwards, Councilmembers Fowler, Azzoz, John and Thompson voting for and no one voting no. Motion passed. 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page - 12 - 9. Discussion regarding the City Charter, the general and specific role or roles of the City Council - Including the aggregate view of the current members as to the proper exercise of the powers afforded to the City Council, as a body, by the City Charter and State Law. (Mayor /Council) Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz who stated he feels it is appropriate for City Council to ask a City Manager or City Secretary or Judge to act on a council request. They work at the will of council. Councilmember Fowler responded that he disagrees. They do not micro -manage their City Manager. However, if they see something that is not right, they have a right to discuss it (maybe in Executive Session) to examine it in more detail. If we have a problem, the city manager needs to be allowed a chance to resolve it. Councilmember John stated he thinks it would be appropriate to have a meeting (possibly in executive session) with the city manager because now you are talking about the performance of one of his departments. Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards stated he does think we need to sit down and discuss their roles further, but on the dais is not the proper place for that discussion. Councilmember Thompson stated he thinks what is being requested is already being done — through a job description, periodic evaluation, and through trust. To get to the point of instructing employees from the dais is crossing the line. Councilmember Azzoz spoke once again and continued to clarify his request of simply asking the City Manager to speak with the Chief of Police to ensure the department investigators are taking advantage of all available options of outside assistance to help solve an open unsolved high profile criminal case. Dialogue and personal opinion continued between councilmembers. Mayor Carpenter observed that they appear to have a difference of opinion as to the role of council. In the past, when they were a general law city, the mayor /council generally told the staff how to do their job(s). In 1973/1974 the people of this city decided to switch to a council/manager form of government where council becomes a policy making body. In a mayor /council government the mayor is essentially all powerful and can instruct everyone to do everything. The challenge when you have an elected body giving direction to individual members on how to do their job is you move into a potential for cronyism and a level of interference that can result in chaos. The idea of the council/manager form of government is to have a third party run the affairs of the city in a manner that is not subject to the whims of the elected officials. It is a kind of protectionist type of model. The people of Schertz adopted that and have given us direction on how we are supposed to function in our charter. Stepping away from that would produce other serious challenges. It is not our purview to change the form and function of government from the dais; that belongs to the voters themselves. This is why he has a concern with the idea of instructing the city manager publicly to instruct a department head to take or not take an action. A public statement like telling the city manager to tell someone to do something may bring real doubt where there should not be any. As there were no further comments or action from council, Mayor Carpenter moved to the roll call vote. 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page - 13 - Roll Call Vote Confirmation Mayor Carpenter recognized City Secretary Brenda Dennis who provided the roll call votes for agenda items 1 -8. Requests and Announcements 10. Announcements by City Manager • Citizen Kudos • Recognition of City employee actions • New Departmental initiatives Mayor Carpenter recognized City Manager John Kessel who thanked Council for giving him the opportunity to go to the International City Manager Association (ICMA). He attended a session on `Listening', which was a really good class and a good skill to improve on. He noticed in the audience and dais there are six of the candidates for the upcoming election and he wanted to make a general announcement that staff is looking at making some changes to the master calendar dates: *December 27 city council meeting — cancel and move it up to December 20 *January 3 — cancelled Additionally, there will be a council orientation session (1 -2 hours) during each of the meetings focused on major topics associated with the city and management of the city and what it means to be a city council member. 11. Future Agenda Item Request for City Council: This is an opportunity for City Council members to request that items be placed on a future agenda. No discussion of the merits of the item may be taken at this time. Should a Council Member oppose placement of the requested item on a future agenda, the Mayor, without allowing discussion, shall ask for the consensus of the other City Council members to place or not place the item on a future agenda. No items requested. 12. Announcements by Mayor and Councilmembers • City and community events attended and to be attended • City Council Committee and Liaison Assignments (see assignments below) • Continuing education events attended and to be attended • Recognition of actions by City employees • Recognition of actions by community volunteers Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Fowler who stated he attended the recent TML Annual Conference in Austin and attended some interesting sessions (i.e., future 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page - 14 - communication techniques, advances in solar power energy, housing built with bricks or other masonry). He also stated he appreciates the time he has served on city council for the city. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz who stated he appreciated Mr. Fowler's service to the city and he will be missed. Mayor Carpenter recognized Mayor Pro -Tern Edwards who thanked city staff members who assisted transporting Councilmembers and Executive Staff on National Night Out to the various city neighborhoods. They did a great job. He also thanked the residents who participated. He also attended the TML Annual Conference in Austin and realized we are already doing a lot of things in Schertz that were promoted and suggested at the seminar. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Thompson who stated he also attended the National Night Out Neighborhoods and the TML Annual Conference in Austin. Additionally he enjoyed working with the local students at today's Student Mayor /Council Program. Adi ournment Mayor Carpenter adjourned the meeting at 9:03 p.m ✓Michael R. Carpenter, Mayor IST. r 4 Brenda Dennis, Cit ecretary 10 -11 -2016 Minutes Page -15 -